It's for the Birds

Found a couple more treasures in the yard - five mounds of some kind of bulb growing up by the back fence have been puzzling me for a while. I sort of thought they were crocus at first, but no sign of any kind of flower - just leaves. Then my hubby surprised me today and told me they were spider lillies. Could have knocked me over with a feather - this from a man who can't tell a daisy from a rose. But then he reminded me that when we moved in last fall, they were in bloom all along that back fence. I had just forgotten all about them. I just now wish I had moved them because that is a corner of the yard that I do not see or visit very often, it's back behind the pump house and at the very back of the house. I'll have to move them this fall after they bloom. I'm pretty sure that's the right time to transplant them.

I also found what I think is either a honeysuckle or trumpet vine on the front fence. I'm leaning toward trumpet vine although I'm not an expert on either one, but trumpet vine grows pretty much wild all around NE Texas, so that would be my guess. This appears to have been planted in the past and is twined all through the chain link fence, but is about 90% dead, but I found 3 or 4 canes that are putting out nice new green growth. I would guess that it's maybe 10 or 15 years old, it's pretty mature and has pretty thick stems, but has been sadly, sadly neglected. I also found some runners on the ground and they had put down roots - I rescued those and potted them up before hubby goes through there with the mower or weedeater! I can't wait to see what it is! This is a picture of the vine - I can't find a good picture on the internet or in my gardening books to compare it to.

I also found tons more daylillies in the cow pasture, and I dug some of those up and transplanted them to my front flower bed. I don't know how they will do there tho, cause they like sun and this flower bed is on the north side ofthe house and is mostly shady, but right now it's the only flower bed I have, so it will have to do. I wanted to get them before the cows eat any more of them. I decided it's the cows eating them.

4 Member Comments

Mar 17, 2009 | 3:35 AM PST
I can't grow a spider lily if my life depended on it, yet they grow all over town! I've tried almost every bed that I have! You'll be able to tell what your vine is when it blooms. I'm sure the day lilies will survive until you can find a happy spot for them. Let us know.

Mar 17, 2009 | 6:10 AM PST
Oh, what fun to discover what lies lurking in a new yard! The best advice I got when we moved in our house was to just watch the yard for the first year to see what was there, then plan for changes. Enjoy, and happy gardening!